Grill Pans

How we tested

When you can’t fire up the grill, it’s handy to have a stovetop grill pan. Though it can’t replicate the flavor of the open flame, a ridged grill pan does make crusty, tasty char-grill marks on meat, fish, or vegetables. Some grill pans even come with presses for panini and grilled cheese sandwiches. We gathered eight pans in stainless steel, nonstick-coated aluminum, and enameled and plain cast iron. The price range was dramatic—from about $19 to nearly $200.

Every pan made appetizing grilled sandwiches and left grill marks on zucchini planks and strip steaks. But some marks were more crisply defined than others. Pans with broad, shallow ridges—almost all of the nonstick aluminum pans and the single uncoated stainless steel pan—left partial, indistinct marks. Cast-iron pans, with ridges ranging from 4 millimeters to 5.5 millimeters high, made the best grill marks—all the food looked grilled, with char lines that went all the way across. By contrast, the ridges on the nonstick pans were just 1.88 millimeters to 3 millimeters and left little impression. The marks help create a flavorful crust—and also indicate something more important.

Grilling hamburgers gave us the key. Pans with low, gentle ridges made grill marks on the first side of patties but none at all on the second side. That’s because, at that point, the patties began frying in their own rendered fat, which left them greasy. Not so the burgers grilled on the tall ridges, which produced intact grill marks on both sides, as the food was perched well above rendered fat.

If higher ridges perform better, why wouldn’t nonstick pans have them? Nonstick aluminum pans are stamped from metal sheets, which limits the height of those ridges, explained Hugh Rushing of the Cookware Manufacturers Association. “If the ridges were made any taller, the material would tear and deform. Cast iron in any shape will have higher peaks and valleys.”

Cast-iron pans also did better at retaining heat, so their temperature dropped only slightly when we added food—unlike thin aluminum nonstick pans. “Aluminum does get hot in a hurry and conveys that to the meat,” Rushing said. “But when you put the meat on there, it soaks up the heat and the temperature drops. The cast iron takes longer to get hot but is more resistant to cooling, so that gives you more of a char than on the aluminum.”

But would other foods showcase the strengths of nonstick? Glazed salmon, marinated in soy-maple glaze before grilling (and brushed with more during grilling), was harder to disengage from cast iron and stainless steel than from nonsticks, which gave us effortless turning. As for cleaning, nothing was easier than nonstick—just a few swipes removed most of the caramelized soy-maple gunk. It took more scrubbing to remove cooked-on glaze from cast-iron and stainless steel pans. (Plain grilled salmon didn’t stick at all, even to cast iron, once pans were thoroughly pre-heated and generously brushed with oil, as we do when cooking outdoors.)

So we faced a dilemma: Easy-clean nonstick pans made lousy grill marks and greasy burgers. Cast iron cooked beautifully but was harder to clean. In the end, better grill performance outweighed any other factors. Otherwise, why not just use a frying pan? Also, cast-iron pans offered a bonus: matching panini presses, included or sold separately.

Our favorite grill pan turned in a stellar performance, with tall ridges that kept food positioned above fat; the largest cooking surface; great cast-iron heat retention; and an enamel coating that’s easy to clean and even survived 20 dishwasher cycles. But at $159.90, it’s an investment, especially since we don’t expect to use it every day. That's why we also recommend our best buy: Its tall, cast-iron ridges made great grill marks and kept grease away. While it’s smaller and lacks enamel coating for easy cleaning, its $33.55 combined price (pan and press) makes it a real bargain.

America's Test Kitchen will not sell, rent, or disclose your email address
to third parties unless otherwise notified. Your email address is required
to identify you for free access to content on the site. You will also
receive free newsletters and notification of America's Test Kitchen specials.

The Results

Winner

Recommended

Design Trifecta 360 Knife Block

Admittedly expensive, this handsome block certainly seemed to live up to its billing as “the last knife block you ever have to buy.” The heaviest model in our testing, this block was ultrastable, and its durable bamboo exterior was a breeze to clean. Well-placed medium-strength magnets made it easy to attach all our knives, and a rotating base gave us quick access to them. One tiny quibble: The blade of our 12-inch slicing knife stuck out a little.

$248.64*

Buy Now

Recommended

Schmidt Brothers Downtown Block

This roomy block completely sheathed our entire winning knife set using just one of its two sides—and quite securely, thanks to long, medium-strength magnet bars. Heavy, with a grippy base, this block was very stable. An acrylic guard made this model extra-safe but also made it a little trickier to insert knives and to clean; the wood block itself showed some minor cosmetic scratching during use.

$141.90*

Buy Now

Schmidt Brothers Midtown Block

This smaller version of the Downtown Block secured all our knives nicely, though the blade of the slicing knife stuck out a bit. With a base lined with grippy material, this block was very stable. An acrylic guard afforded extra protection against contact with blades but made it a little harder to insert knives and to clean; the wood itself got a little scratched during use.

$67.99*

Buy Now

Recommended with Reservations

Swissmar Bamboo Magnetic Knife Block

This small, scratch-resistant model had a stable, rubber-lined base and could hold all our knives, though the blade of the 12-inch slicing knife stuck out a bit. But inch-long gaps between its small magnets made coverage uneven and forced us to find the magnetic hot spots in order to secure the knives. Its acrylic guard made it safer to use but harder to insert knives and to clean.

$49.93*

Not Recommended

Messermeister Walnut Magnet Block

This handsome block was done in by its shape—a tippy, top-heavy quarter-circle that wasn’t tall or broad enough to keep the blades of three knives from poking out. It lacked a nonslip base, and its extra-strong magnets made it unnerving to attach or remove our heavy cleaver. Finally, it got a bit scratched after extensive use.

$129.95*

Epicurean Standing Knife Rack 12"

This magnetic block sheathed all our knives completely, though with a bit of crowding. But it was hard to insert each knife without hitting the block’s decorative slats on way down, and because the block was light and narrow, it wobbled when bumped. Worse, we couldn’t take it apart, so splatters that hit the interior were there to stay. Additionally, the outside stained easily, and when we wiped it down, the unit smelled like wet dog.

$99.95*

Kapoosh Rondelle Knife Block

This model stabilized knives with a mass of stiff, spaghetti-like bristles that shed and nicked easily after extensive use, covering our knives with plastic debris. While all our knives fit securely, several of the blades stuck out, making this unit feel less safe overall. Finally, though the bristles could be removed and cleaned in the dishwasher, their nooks and crannies made this block hard to wash by hand.

$24.99*

Kuhn Rikon Vision Knife Block, Clear

This plastic block required us to aim each knife into the folds of an accordion-pleated insert that was removable for easy cleaning but got nicked easily with repeated use. Because we could only insert the knives vertically, longer knife blades stuck out; a cleaver was too wide to fit. The lightest model in our lineup, this block was dangerously top-heavy when loaded with knives.

$35.88*

Sign up for our cooking newsletter

How we use your email address
America's Test Kitchen will not sell, rent, or disclose your email address to third parties unless otherwise notified. Your email address is required to identify you for free access to content on the site. You will also receive free newsletters and notification of America's Test Kitchen specials.